FOUR WAYS YOUR BENEFITS PLAN MUST BE FLEXIBLE

Four Ways Your Benefits Plan MUST Be Flexible

The era of one-size-fits-all benefits plans is over; yet too many Canadian businesses continue to be sold off-the-shelf employee benefit plans that look like they might fit… if you drop this piece of vital coverage here, or pay an additional amount over there, or compromise on this administrative hassle over there.

Canadian businesses shouldn’t have to make these compromises: they should be able to buy what they need, and then configure their plan for the optimal return on their (considerable) investment.

Here are four things to expect from a truly flexible benefits plan:

Configure your employee health benefits plan for different types of employees

Not all employees need the same benefits.

For example, in an organization with mobile and location-bound workers, it might make sense to give different coverage levels to each type of employee to reflect the type of work that they’ll be doing.

Configure your employee benefits plan for different locations or divisions

For businesses with multiple locations, this can make administration and financial reconciliation much easier.

Your benefits plan should be able to work – and be billed – on a location by location basis to take into account different employee types, cost centers or local regulations.

Change your employee health benefits when you need

As your business changes (and as your employees change) your employee health benefits plan should change as well. Your plan should be reviewed annually and updated as needed.

This means you need to be able to reach an expert, receive expert advice and solutions, and then have your provider make the change – without hassle.

Don’t get stuck with old concepts, processes, or systems – make sure that your benefits provider can change along with you.

Make sure that your employees have flexibility as well

Employers aren’t the only ones frustrated by one-size-fits-all employee benefits plans – employees get frustrated too!

New benefit features such as Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) or “flex” plans give employees more control over how their benefit dollars are spent while giving employers greater cost certainty. It’s a win-win for Canadian businesses.

Read: 3 Free Ways to Instantly Upgrade Your Benefits Plan
 

Good Advice is a Key

Provincial governments have declared employee benefits an essential service during challenging times. We’ve been there for our 4,000 clients, and we want to be there for you and your employees.

Your broker should be able to provide your business and your employees with all the flexibility you need. Talk to a GroupHEALTH Advisor Partner today about your options.